In the greatest scientific breakthrough of the new century biochemists have found the reason only women find the mindless slapstick or Miranda Hart so hilarious. A gene which is responsible for a special receptor in the brain.

It is thought to be a mutation of the Victoria-Wood gene which affected a previous generation and was solely responsible for Acorn Antiques being aired. Men do not carry either but instead have a theoretical but as yet undiscovered 'football & titties' gene.

It was put to me recently that the reason so many men don't 'get' female humour is because most of the time, the female sense of humour is so highly evolved, it flies over the head of most men.
Drop the IQ level 20 points or so, drop in references to farts and/or knobs, and men will guffaw along.

Drop the IQ level 20 points or so, drop in references to farts and/or knobs, and men will guffaw along.

Hmmm... not sure that 'Miranda' is the show to prove the point!

When I first saw her, and the show, it seemed like a breath of fresh air, half an hour of inspired silliness. But the freshness wore off pretty quick. I know she's gauche, 'funny looking' and wants a boyfriend, but the needle's stuck and, in every situation, I know what's coming next. Nevertheless, it's still a hundred times funnier than Mrs Brown and her 'boys'...

Neither show is particularly humorous imo, with Mrs Brown being so desperately unfunny as to cause physical pain. Perhaps it wasn't the best example, but seriously hacked off with this belief that women can't be funny.

Cheers is a great example, but that's also down to a beautifully written script. 'Acorn Antiques' would have been best left as a one-off sketch rather than dragged out into a regular feature, and Victoria Wood may make me chuckle but not guffaw.

Have you ever been in the midst of a bunch of women on a night out, or even just overheard their banter?

Women are often hugely funny, but the humour is often dry and pithy with a healthy dose of self-deprecation.

Linda Smith was funny. She was 'radio 4' when she needed to be, but she could skewer pomposity with a well-turned phrase. Jo Brand is funny (when she's allowed to be). Joan Rivers is funny (though I have to watch through my fingers). I must be one of the few people to find the Vicar of Dibley (and Alice...) funny. Like a warm bath, perhaps, but I like warm baths. A lot of my favourite funny woman don't have their name in lights: Elaine from Seinfeld, Ros in Frazier, everyone in Cheers, Hotlips in MASH... plus loads more that I can't think of this morning...

The women I find funniest are those who don't narrow their comedy down to 'women's issues', and who have the capacity to surprise (unlike the groove the Miranda has settled into).

Ab Fab was genius in its day, with Joanna Lumley and June Whitfield showing some of the finest comedy acting. Tamsin Greig in 'Green Wing' was brilliant, as were most of the female cast. Michelle Gomez played her slightly deranged part excellently, to the extent that anything I've seen her in subsequently still had me chortling at the memory of her 'Green Wing' role.

EDIT - just googled Michelle Gomez, and am in shock that she's only 9 days older than me. She must have had a hell of a hard paper round...

I sat through Miranda and Mrs. Brown the other night. Two laughs in an hour. I’m not doing that again. If you hang around nurses as often as I have, you can’t help but notice that women are funny, but they save the best stuff for when they think there are no men are around.

There used to be a young slip of a lass by the name of Mary Evans who wrote some extremely funny stuff for one of those comedy websites. She was one of the funniest contributors they ever had.
Nobody would touch her.
But that's a different story.

Stephanie Cole in Cabin Pressure excellent
Jo Caulfield live is good too.
Tracey Thorn (EBTG) is a very funny person (as opposed to being a comedian)
At least Miranda Hart has managed to gate crash the alpha-male party - which I doubt she managed by sleeping with the producer.

I thought the first series of the Katherine Tate show was excellent. I saw Mrs Brown's boys for the first time the other day - absolutely dreadful. What's all that 'taking a bow' bit at the end all about?

@ronseal.
Third serieseses are always shit. Just look at Fawlty Towers.
They're the new Second Album.

Did you see the Miranda Christmas special, by the way? The bit where she stands on a fountain and it sprays water on her and she can't get out of the way for a few seconds and then it looks like she done a wee in her pants was filmed in Kingston's own market square.

But last time I did that (in a letter to the Daily Telegraph, which was meant to be a joke) a reporter from the Daily Mail came round my house and tried to do a story about how The Good Life was affecting local house prices.